User blog:Tokyo Prefectural Advisor/Important Announcement for 2017 Departing Private School JETs
This is an important announcement for '2017 departing Private School JETs! UPDATED 06/16/17 Last week all departing private school JETs should have received information regarding return flights, pension withdrawal, and apartments. The information below includes the information from the Shigaku Zaidan, as well as other information regarding these topics and final residency tax payments. 2017 Return Flights General Guidelines for Private School Return Flights: #The exact method of how the return airfare is organized is up to the discretion of each CO. #However, the form “JET Return Travel Itinerary” must still be completed. #There are no overall deadlines for when this form or the entire process must be completed. This is up to your private school, so please discuss this with them as early as possible. #There is no mandated procedure for how airfare tickets will be procured. Your school may ask you to fill out the Itinerary Form and then purchase the tickets for you, or they may provide you with funds in a lump sum and ask for a receipt. They may have alternative procedures as well. #In principle, the route taken by the JET should mirror the original route taken when the JET arrived in Tokyo. #Flights should also be as direct as possible. #Departing JETs must leave within one month of their appointment ending. #JETs who enter into an employment contract in Japan after their appointment has ended are ineligible for return airfare. #JETs can leave when their appointment has ended. If you wish to leave on the day your appointment ends, then please consult with your CO as to whether this is permissible. If you wish to leave earlier, then you may need to work out an arrangement with your CO, such as using yearly paid leave or time-in-lieu. Some of these points may conflict, especially points 5 and 6. It is up to your school to determine how this is organized. Information regarding return airfares can be found in the following places, however the salient points have been stated above: *General Information Handbook- ‘Return Airfare’, page 161; and *After JET Guide- ‘Return Airfare’ We have attached a 2017 FAQ and the 2017 “3-4-1 JET Return Travel Itinerary Form” to the documents/files section of the Tokyo Private School JETs Facebook group. Please fill this form out with the aid of your supervisor. You must discuss this form and the purchase of your ticket with your school. 2017 Pension Refund Read the “After JET Guide” for some information regarding this. Your supervisor will have a form for you to submit for the lump sum withdrawal. Please look at this ahead of time! You will be making a claim by yourself to the Shigaku Kyosai (Private School Mutual Aid) after returning home. It is a slightly different process from the public school JET pension claim process, so please be warned. You MUST submit this claim within TWO years of departure. You MAY need the following, among other things: *Claim form (from your supervisor or found here) *Certificate of moving out from your local city hall **Submit a “moving out notice” at your local city hall (''tenshutsu todoke 転出届) and then get a “residency record” (juminhyo　住民票) from your local city hall and be sure it includes all past address records *A bank statement *A copy of your passport and visa, including your departure stamp *Your pension handbook/pension card (your supervisor or office usually holds this for you) *A “''NOZEI-KANRININ-TODOKEDESHO''”-- available at tax offices or this website **This document is for naming a tax agent/representative to claim a tax refund on the lump-sum withdrawal payment IF eligible. **Please choose a tax agent/representative carefully and read further about this process on the Pension Refund page; not even your CO is obligated to be your tax agent/representative. **You must submit a claim for this tax refund within five years of leaving Japan. In the Tokyo Private School JETs Facebook group’s documents/files section we have attached the files “Pension Card.jpg” and “Pension Lump Withdrawal Guide.pdf”, which are, respectively, an annotated version of a pension card and a basic guide to the process. Check the Shigaku Kyosai website for more details, including how to calculate your contribution. You can also check the wikia page on Private School Pension Refunds here. Moving Out of your Apartment Contact Relocation Japan, Global Trust Networks (GTN), or your landlord as soon as possible to discuss your moving out procedures and timelines. Rental agreements differ, so it is best to direct specific questions you may have to them. General advice: *Contact the appropriate party sooner rather than later. Some lease agreements require well over a month’s notice from the move-out-date. *Anticipate and ask about moving out fees— this depends entirely upon your lease agreement, so moving out fees may or may not apply to you. *Begin preparing to pack, send belongings overseas, or sell/dispose of your belongings. **Some large items need special tags in order to be disposed of properly! *Begin preparing to end service agreements, like cell phone contracts, and to turn off utilities, like electricity and gas. *Do NOT forget to visit your city hall to submit a moving out notice. Final Residence Tax Payment This is an informal warning that some of you may be required to pay a large amount of residence tax before departing in August. This will either be billed to you or directly taken from your final paycheck. Whether or not you have to pay residence tax depends on your citizenship and length of stay in Japan. If you are required to pay residence tax, the amount will differ depending on your city/ward of residence on January 1st. If you are required to pay residence tax, there are two methods in which this is paid, which will also affect the sum due upon moving out—please confirm the method with your supervisor, who can check with your school’s office and let you know what to expect. Please check this wikia page for more details on residency tax. Contacting your Predecessor Not all 2017 departing JETs will have a successor, and not all 207 incoming JETs will have a predecessor. Your CO has he final say on if, when, and how you can contact your successor. With that in mind, we have created optional worksheets with some of the essential information that your successor will need in the first few weeks of the job. The forms can be filled in on a computer, and/or printed at your leisure. The Predecessor Worksheet is a form for departing Private School JETs who wish to leave information regarding their CO for their successor. This form is intended to be filled out by the departing JET and either sent to the successor prior to the successor's arrival OR left on the predecessor's desk/in an easy-to-find location for the successor to see upon the successor's arrival. There may be topics that you do not wish to elaborate on, and there may be additional information you wish to include. Both parties, please be advised that your contracts may be different and your current contract will always take precedence over this document. The document can be found below, or click here for additional information and worksheets. Image583150.png|Predecessor Worksheet |link=File:Tokyo Private School JETs Predecessor Form 2017 FILLABLE.pdf Category:Blog posts